A Map: Knowing Where You Stand in The Dojo

The size of an Okinawan karate dojo is likely to be smaller than its counterpart in America or Europe. It is also more likely to be attached to or form a part of the sensei’s home. Space on the island is at a premium and few families can afford the luxury of leaving large sections of their home vacant and unused for most of the day. I have visited dojo where boxes full of stock from the family’s shop, and even furniture, has had to be moved to one side first in order to allow enough space for training. I have to say that I never found this a problem; in fact, I always thought it added something to the experience of learning and somehow made the karate I was doing seem more natural and relevant to normal living. When a dojo is a place permanently set aside for karate or kobudo training, then in Okinawa it has a slightly different appearance from the dojo of Japan.